Windlass

91 posts in this topic

I read a post earlier this morning and I didn't have time to answer it, so I thought that I would get to it tonight, but it is gone. I can't find it here, or in boat or dock talk.They were asking about installing a windlass on their boat, so I thought I would tell them about mine to maybe give them a few ideas. Does any one know where it may have gotten to. Denny.

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I read a post earlier this morning and I didn't have time to answer it, so I thought that I would get to it tonight, but it is gone. I can't find it here, or in boat or dock talk.They were asking about installing a windlass on their boat, so I thought I would tell them about mine to maybe give them a few ideas. Does any one know where it may have gotten to. Denny.

YES, PLEASE! That's exactly what I want to do to mine! There's also the older style but this one is exactly the one I'd like to add to mine. I know the anchor alone is about a gino lol, but it looks awesome and for someone who has tendinitis in my right shoulder that from time to time cripples me, it would be a relief in more ways than one! Do tell!

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Actually, I have the anchor locker right there which includes the bow, folding ladder so not sure this exact one would work in my case.

I sent Joe at Cecil an email today and asked him if he could advise on the set-up that would work for me and waiting to hear from him. But it would be nice to hear what you did in this case. First of all, did you do the install yourself? Do you have control of it from the helm or just the bow buttons?

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Hey, Glad with a little help from our forum friends that we found each other. Mine is made by Anchorlift http://www.anchorlift.com/

It is so sweet, you push a button and it goes down and you push a button and it goes up. For me it was a safety issue. Picture a 70yr. old man climbing over a wind shield ( on his hands and knees with a life jacket on ) in 3&1/2 waves and while sitting,and with both feet on the bow rail trying to pull in 150 ft of road and free up the anchor. This is really a high quality product and company. If you would like some more input on it, let me know. Denny.

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Hey, Glad with a little help from our forum friends that we found each other. Mine is made by Anchorlift http://www.anchorlift.com/

It is so sweet, you push a button and it goes down and you push a button and it goes up. For me it was a safety issue. Picture a 70yr. old man climbing over a wind shield ( on his hands and knees with a life jacket on ) in 3&1/2 waves and while sitting,and with both feet on the bow rail trying to pull in 150 ft of road and free up the anchor. This is really a high quality product and company. If you would like some more input on it, let me know. Denny.

Denny, you're still a spring chicken, my friend! Long way to go. Most of the veteran folk I have seen out on the water in my very short time as a boater have been the best boaters IMO. The older the boater, the more courteous he/she is and in most cases I see them in sail boats and I, for the life of me could never imagine operating a sailboat at 48 let alone older. I can certainly see your need for a windlass after reading your experience pulling the anchor by hand.

A quick anecdote that you might find amusing - my neighbors, nicest people in the world were going out on a friend of theirs boat the same day we went out on our first. Later that day we get back and in our shared driveway and exchanged our daily experiences. The wife says to me "how was your day?" I said "great, how was yours?" she rolled her eyes and proceeded to tell the story. Turns out this friend of theirs with a sailboat is 75 which I didn't think anything of, in fact I figured they were actually in better hands, right? Then she proceeded to say - "he's in a wheel chair from a car accident where he lost all feeling to his lower extremities, he has a winch that he operates by remote control that lifts him off the dock and into the boat in the slip, and his wife has one prosthetic leg!" I'm thinking to myself these people handle a sailboat? The age wasn't a concern, the handicap was!

It was a Sunday and the marina where they have the slip is the nuttiest, craziest and most hectic boating area in the state of Massachusetts! They ended up banging into a couple of boats but nothing serious and as they left the incident area the harbor master chased them down, accused them of "leaving the scene of the accident" and gave them a ticket. Other than that, she said the day was great and went on to compliment the sailing virtuosity of this 75 year old and his wife with a prosthetic leg! After that story, you will never, ever hear me complain about any little trivial nuisances! lol

Did you photograph the process of installing that windless anchor? Would love to hear anything regarding the installation process.

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You can add as many controls as needed. I must say, the foot switches are nice. It keeps your hands free if the boat starts rocking or if the line gets fouled.

Hey Iggy, the waters I was referring to were Newburyport. Ever go up there? It is NUTS! Not only is the current ridiculous at all times, but it is really crowded and it seems to attract most of the nutties.

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The farthest north for me was Misery Is. Like you mentioned, the pots are everywhere!

Been to the Vineyard and South Dartmouth. You have to go though Woods Hole, talk about nuts! The Boston Islands are nice too, we sometimes have lunch on one of them.

Did you buy from Buson's?

Funny you should ask! That place is literally 6 minutes from my house! I didn't but I came really close to making a deal on one of those beautiful 2014 277 ssx's. I was in there for quite a while and just ready to ask them to order me a red one until the Admiral jumped in and put the brakes on. She had a huge problem with the depreciation value of buying new and I told her that I didn't want to buy anyone else's problems by buying used. So I told her if she could find a relatively newer and similar model with exceptionally low engine hours, then we can go that way. I thought for sure she would fail but sure enough, she found a 2010 276ssx with 34 hours on it that came with a brand new EZ loader trailer which was also something to consider since a new boat is priced without a trailer. We had to drive 7 hours to get it but the savings were well worth it. Only problem is it wasn't red but black and that's ok. I hope someday to go back to them for a bigger boat with a cabin. What about you?

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I bought a 2011 Sig 290. It was left over with a rebate 2 years ago. Love the boat for the weekends, but. We take 2 or 3 trips each summer for a week and finding the boat a little small. Ether we hit the lottery or really change our spending for that bigger boat.

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I hear that. For years and years we would walk marinas and docks and marvel at the boats some people have and dream away.

That Sig must be a beauty, though, but I can definitely see the need for something bigger. Seems like a common wish amongst many boaters. We were leaning heavily towards a cuddy or something with a cabin but didn't think the need would be frequent enough. Now that we've experienced the fun of boating, it will be a definite, if at all possible.

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This is the style I'd like to do, similar to what Denny did with his. But I don't have the recessed slot where the anchor mounts for the chain to go right into the locker that houses the bow ladder. And I'm not about to carve out a channel for it lol.

Probably gonna have to go with this style here, although that requires some cutting into the top part of the keel? That would be a little frightening. Then you probably lose the function of the bow ladder.

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I installed one on a Crownline. I used the bow roller as the channel. There must be room for the line/chain to go out of the locker when the door is closed.

Being on the ocean with a bow rider, I would be very careful. With in open bow you can get swamped very easily. I would install an extra pump.

On "with a cabin but didn't think the need would be frequent enough." We live on it on the weekends and sometimes Wednesday nights to break up the week. Later we are leaving to go to the Wessagussett Yacht Club (in Weymouth) for an invasion. A 20 minute ride from Winthrop. The dog & cat stay home, thank god for neighbors. There rescue pets (its a story) so the neighbors baby sit them and the house when were gone. The dog is not good with people yet!

Hint: If the boat has a stove & head you can deduct the interest as if its a 2nd home. Get the cabin, you will not regret it.

I would join Palmer's Cove if you have not already! Its a great club. Walk around there, you will notice that 29' is on the small side compared to the other boats there. The norm is more like 32 to 34'. Again the norm, some hit 40 to 45'

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I am thinking on my boat, I can fabricate some metal work out of 420L stainless, that ties the two front tie offs together and bolts to the inner anchor locker wall. I was hoping the Iggy had a simpler idea.

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I installed one on a Crownline. I used the bow roller as the channel. There must be room for the line/chain to go out of the locker when the door is closed.

Being on the ocean with a bow rider, I would be very careful. With in open bow you can get swamped very easily. I would install an extra pump.

The only room available is just enough for the nylon line, not even the chain let alone the windlass anchor holder.

Then there's the bow ladder which I would actually hate to lose for the windlass, even if it could be done.

It's gonna have to go on the bow keel (if that's the correct terminology) just like the second photo in the other post. Doesn't look as cool but if it works and I don't have to pull the anchor manually, then I might consider it. But again, the bow ladder will have to go which I'm not too thrilled about. Having the bow ladder for beaching is a must. This model year does not have the windlass option as per Joe from Cecil so a modification to make it work and not lose the ladder is next to impossible, I think.

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Dave: I used 3 5/16" bolts with fender washers to hold down the bow roller. If Chap is anything like Crownline, than the bow should be about 3/4" thick. That's will hold it. As to cleating off the line/rode, there must be a cleat next to the locker that can be used. OR, you are going to have to add one with a backing plate.

Hatem: Your boating on the North Shore with a bow rider. Take the ladder out, chances are you will never use it unless your on a lake. Do you hate me yet?

You will need about 20 to 25' of 1/4" chain and about 150' of line. Rule of thumb, 5 to 1 rode. So 20' of water = 100' of rode. What happens if a storm hits, more rode will be needed.

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Dave, I'm not saying that it cannot be done, but you will need a very vivid imagination and willing to spend some money to do this. First off the motor is what holds the anchor road tight when the anchor is deployed, so that really needs to be securely mounted. And how much line you will be using, will determine how deep your anchor locker will be. And yes I did put mine in . I already had a front storage area that I was able to turn into a locker. I did have to get rid of my combination bow light and put on two individual ones, which was a bonus, because I had always wished that they were separate. Even though my deck is solid, I still put 2 large thick metal plates under the motor and bow roller. I did all the work, and I sill had about $1400 in it, which included having the anchor chrome plated.

I'm not sure how well it will work, but the 2nd picture that Hatem posted, seems to be the one that will keep the boats integrity and still have use of your bow ladder. You will need to check and see if the ladder will clear the anchor when it is let down. Go on line and check out the pros and cons about that style, anything is doable. If this is an absolute need, you will figure out a way to make it work. Please keep us posted. Good luck, Denny.

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(Did you photograph the process of installing that windless anchor? Would love to hear anything regarding the installation process.)

Hatem, thanks for the kind words, and great story. When I was at a marina in Montreal, Ca. they would take physically challenged people out sailing, and used that same set up to put them and their chair on the boat

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I was too busy and deep in thought trying to make it all come together to even to think about pictures, besides at that time I had a cell phone that didn't take pic's. ( I do now ) The hard part was laying on my back with my arms stretched over my into the locker putting it all together by feel, because there was no room in there for my head and my hands at the same time, so I looked and felt and looked and felt. There was no template, just phone calls to the manufacture getting all kinds of measurements to make sure that I even had enough room to install it. I also had to run heavy gauge wire back to the battery and their wire kit to the helm for the switch. Now that I have a picture taking cell phone I will get some pic's of the under side and post them. Thanks for your interest, Denny.